London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Shoreditch 1892
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch, Parish of St. Leonard]
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cost of disposing of refuse all over London, has made this increase more than was
anticipated. The total not payment for collecting and disposing of the refuse of this
parish and watering the streets for the year, from 25th March, 1892, to 25th
March, 1893, has been £17,850 16s. 5d., in addition to which £1,117 19s. 8d.
was paid for interest and repayment of loans taken up to meet the cost of plant,
buildings and permanent works, thus making a total cost of £18,968 16s. 1d.
This calculation includes depreciation of plant, horses, &c., as the loans in respect
of them will be paid off when they are worn out. The total cost under the contract
system (including £1,022 for watering) for the year 1890-91 was £11,311; for
the year 1891-92, the amount of the contracts provisionally accepted was £11,380
(the contract for the Eastern Division being terminated at Michaelmas, 1892),
which included £905 for watering. Thus the total cost for last year is 66 per cent. more than that for 1891 -92.
I find on enquiry, however, that the cost of collecting and disposing of refuse has been steadily increasing in the surrounding parishes where no change of system has been adopted, as the following table shews:—
| PARISH. | 1890-91. | 1891-92. | 1892-93. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hackney. | £ | £ | £ |
| Paid to Contractors | 4,650 | 4,893 | 8,762 |
| Paid in Wages | 865 | 910 | 1,418 |
| Total | £5,515 | £5,803 | £10,180 |
| Bethnal Green. Paid to Contractors | 5,314 | 6,354 | 7,102 |
| Wages, &c. | 2,147 | 2,277 | 2,254 |
| Total | £7,461 | £8,631 | £9,356 |
| £2,168 paid to unomployed. | |||
| St. Luke, Middlesex | £7,296 | £7,958 | £8,222 |
In Bethnal Green the lowest tender for this year is £10,400, and taking wages
at the same figure as last year, the total for the current year would be £12,654.
It will thus be seen that the cost of refuse collection and disposal has been increasing
in each of these parishes, and the increase in Bethnal Green of the cost of the
current year, as against that of 1890-91, is £5,193, or at the rate of 69 per cent.,
whilst in Hackney the cost in 1892-93 is 84½ per cent. higher than in 1890-91.
It is thus apparent that the increased cost in this parish is not due altogether
to the changed system, but rather to causes common to this part of London,
among which the principal are increased difficulty in finding shoots for refuse in
the suburbs of London, whose sanitary authorities are raising objections to the
practice; additional duty of cleansing footways, and more frequent removal of